Joel Cavasso

Joel Cavasso

Real Estate Broker

ALOHA!

Think all real estate agents are the same? Joel has spent 44 years building his brand, reputation, and network one handshake at a time. Even in the competitive marketplace of today, Joel excels. He has consistently been a Top Producer since 1985, a year-after-year multi-million dollar producer, and is in the top 100 of all agents in all of Oahu. Even better, Joel is the No. 1 all-time sales leader for Lanikai, and in the top 3 for Kailua in sales volume for all time.

While he specializes in the Kailua-Lanikai-Kaneohe neighborhoods, Joel has also worked in other geographical markets, including development projects on Kauai and Maui. His reputation with the public and his peers is outstanding and he is known among those in the Broker community as someone who is truly enjoyable to work alongside.

Joel is always available for his clients. He often works evenings and weekends whatever it takes to create success on your home sale and or purchase. This success is evident in the fact that Joel statistically gets his Sellers 98% of their list price.

Joel is in the top 1% of REALTORS on Oahu.

I have been a Hawaii resident since 1961 and have been in the real estate business here since 1978. Although I travel statewide to do business, I specialize in luxury and oceanfront markets. As well as, all properties in Lanikai, Kailua, Kaneohe, Kahala, Hawaii Kai and North Shore.

Being a lifelong resident of Lanikai has helped me to develop my knowledge of the homes located here. I have sold more Lanikai property than any other single agent. When new clients come my way, I know which properties may be of interest to them.

It is important that you have an agent who knows the local market and represents you and your interests alone.

When thinking of contacting an agent who has a property listed that is of interest to you, please remember that every agent in that company has a legal fiduciary responsibility to represent the sellers' interests.

For people coming from outside of Windward Oahu, I specialize in buyer representation. Not only do I know our market very well, but I also know a lot of the sellers and their property histories. I have excellent problem-solving skills and an impeccable reputation with my peers, especially when it comes to contract negotiations and the escrow process. By utilizing my representation, you will dramatically strengthen your buying position without incurring any additional costs. At least 20% of my clients purchase properties I find for them that are not yet listed on the open market.

Previously, local Realtors were surveyed for whom they would recommend for honesty, integrity, professionalism and market knowledge. I was voted in the top three agents for Kailua, Kaneohe and Lanikai.

My clients have included; Harry Kojima of "Lets Go Fishing", Young Sohn, retired President Of Sam Sung, Fred Amoroso, retired Chairman of Yahoo, Ed Catmull, Co-founder of Pixar, Lip-Bu Tan, Chairman of Walden International and President Barack Obama.

The Obamas visited every winter for their Hawaiian Christmas vacation until I sold them the Magnum Estate in Waimanalo.


Business aside, I enjoy fishing, lobster netting, walking on the beach, snow skiing, boating and traveling. My travels have included a breathtaking safari in South Africa, Botswana, and Zimbabwe. A week-long boat ride down the beautiful Charente River in France, and a visit to the English countryside that included a friend's birthday celebration in a 15th-century barn. In 2001 we joined the BMW Tour of Italy, the BMW tour of France in 2002, and the BMW Tour to Greece and Italy in 2004. My family and I traveled to Bali and Singapore in 2005 and Italy and Turkey in 2006. Off to down under in 2007 enjoying the Australian vineyards. We attended the first Sino-American Real Estate Expo in Beijing and then headed off to the BMW France and Italy "speed a-thon", and then the South Island of New Zealand looking for Real Estate investments.   In the late 1990’s, we made three trips over the pond to Scotland, England and Ireland followed by a visit to Portugal and Spain. The next year off to Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.  In November of 2022 we went on two Safaris in the Masai Mara Kenya and the Serengeti Tanzania. Most recently, in Oct. 2023 we went back to Rome and stayed in an Umbrian ancient Villa with nine of our favorite BMW gang.


After all my travels, I can definitely say without prejudice that Hawaii is the best place to call home! Be it your first, second, or retirement home, Hawaii is "No ka oi" (the best).    



Kayaking off the two Mokulua Islands in Lanikai offer all kinds of rare ​​​​​​​adventures like two Spinner Dolphins and a Humpback Whale playing together.

A Whale of a Tale


The odds of being whacked by whale while at sea are slim to middling, I would say. Yet that's just what happened to veteran diver Bill Boyle and his buddy, Joel Cavasso, on Friday night.

They were in Boyle's 20-foot boat, which Boyle has now rechristened "Whale's Tale", to set lobster nets off Kailua. About 7pm, they got a call from a diver, Scott Moncrief, who was out with buddies Randy Ebright and Kevin Richardson. Moncrief said his boat had broken down 100 yards off the Makapuu Cliffs.

They set their nets and motored to the disabled boat, which at 8pm was halfway between Makapuu and Rabbit Island. It was pitch dark and conditions were calm, a rarity in that area. They secured a tow rope to it and were puttering along at 8 knots when Boyle exclaimed, "Joel, here comes a whale!"

An instant later, a humpback broad-sided the port side of the boat, lifting it three feet out of the ocean and causing it to be engulfed by white water.

"It felt like a carnival ride," said Cavasso. The two men were thrown to the deck. The whale continued on it's way.

"If you think about it, they go from here to Alaska for years. Hitting a boat is no big deal," said Boyle. They picked themselves off the deck and discovered that the impact had broken the steering cable.

They phoned another fishing buddy, Chip Fletcher, for help. They tied a board to the engine so it could be manually steered and limped back to Lanikai with their friends still in tow. Fletcher showed up and took over the towing. All made it safely back to port. In the morning, Boyle and Cavasso found a couple of lobsters in their nets.

By evening, they were back off Makapuu admiring scads of breaching, diving humpbacks.

"They were all over the place," said Boyle, "It was incredible."


​​​​​​​In the beginning of 2023, Joel was featured in the Pacific Business News.  An excerpt of that feature is included below. 

As I go into my 44th year as a Realtor, I am blessed to have an amazing network of clients and peers to support me. I crushed records in 2022 with my highest sale ever of $23,888,000, which was the highest sale for all of HBR for the year & the second highest sale for all time ever recorded in Lanikai. 


I am proud to announce that I will continue to offer our clients the same high level service through Lanikai Land Co. brokered by eXp. eXp is the fastest growing Real Estate Co. in the world. Agents, take note that within 90 days of joining eXp, I was able to transition to 100% commission. 


eXp rapidly became appealing to me because they provide extremely generous semi-retirement opportunities while also supporting an ability to provide high level service to my clients. I am proud to have eXp by my side. If you are looking to buy or sell, I'd be honored to work with you.

I feel that being a consistent top producer can be attributed to my excellent knowledge of the Hawaii real estate market, great clients, and lot of hard work.

If you're thinking of buying on the Windward Coast or anywhere else in the state, please contact me today, and I  would be glad to  give you the best service available.   



Joel receiving a Top Performer Award from Hawaii Business Magazine for his sales performance. 

Find Your Next Dream Home

Browse Homes

Work With Joel

Joel has sold more Lanikai properties than any other agent and is in the Top 3 of Kailua since 1978. If you’re thinking of buying anywhere else in the state, contact Joel and allow him to give you the opportunity to experience the best service available.